ALA's popular and respected Whole Library Handbook series continues with a volume specifically geared towards those who serve young adults, gathering stellar articles and commentary from some of the country's most innovative and successful teen services librarians. Sections focusing on practice, theory, and the philosophical underpinnings of the profession are supported by current research and historical perspectives. Both instructive and reflective in scope, this essential handbook

Provides a comprehensive introduction to the background and day-to-day realities of teen librarianship for LIS students and those new to the field

Offers expert tips and wisdom invaluable to those already working with teens

Highlights trends, challenges, and opportunities in the changing world of how teens interact with libraries, and what they expect

Emphasizes advocacy across all spectrums, including in local communities and among fellow staff who may be anxious about teens in the library

Anyone who works with young adults will benefit from the thorough coverage provided by this volume's expert contributors.

Table of Contents

AcknowledgmentsPreface

1: Who are Teens?

Defining the Local Teen CommunityHeather Booth
Lolcats, Bieber Fever, and Rainbow Bracelets: What’s Hot, What’s So Yesterday, and How to Keep Up Heather Booth
Fast Facts for Librarians about the Teenage Brain Heather Booth
Teen Development: The 40 Developmental AssetsKaren Jensen and Heather Booth
Reading in the Dark: Boys, Their Books, and the Search for Answers Eric Devine

2: Who Are We?

What Does It Mean to be a Teen Services Librarian?Karen Jensen
Same Pattern; Different Cloth: School and Public Librarians and their PartnershipsNaomi Bates
What Does Customer Service to Teens Look Like?Karen Jensen
Friend, Advisor, Enforcer, Professional: Relating to Teens as a Young Adult LibrarianMaggie Hommel Thomann
Where’s the Handbook for That?Karen Jensen
The Importance of Networking in the Life of a Teen LibrarianHeather Booth and Karen Jensen
What’s in Your Files? What to Ditch, What to Keep, and for How LongHeather Booth
Get Your Reading Habits OrganizedAllison Tran
Growing a Young Adult Librarian: Recruitment, Selection, and Retention of an Important Asset for Your CommunityMargaret Redrup-May

3: Creation, Maintenance and Evaluation of Teen Services

An Introduction to the Teen Services PlanKaren Jensen
Teens on the Platform: YALSA’s National Teen Space GuidelinesKatherine Trouern-Trend
Evaluation: Is Where You Begin Where You End?Karen Jensen and Heather Booth
Teen Librarian Advocacy 101Karen Jensen

Collection Development: Making the Case for Teen CollectionsKaren Jensen
Teen Collection Development OutlineKaren Jensen
Are All Lists Created Equal? Diversity in Award-Winning and Best-Selling Young Adult FictionCasey Rawson
WeedingHeather Booth
YA Book Blogs and How They Can Help You Develop Your CollectionAbby Johnson and Melissa Wheelock-Diedrichs
The Next Big Thing in E-books Erin Bush
Booktalking in 1,000 Words—or Maybe a Few More! Joni Richards Bodart
Readers’ Advisory: Listening Is an Act of LoveHeather Booth
What Is Readers’ Advisory, and Why Is Readers’ Advisory for Teens Different?Heather BoothAwards, Lists, Reviews, and Readers’ Advisory Possibilities: It’s Not Just One Big Chocolate ShopFrancisca Goldsmith
Are You Reading YA Lit? You Should BeGretchen Kolderup

6: Marketing

Marketing: An Introduction from a Fellow LibrarianKaren Jensen
Crafting Your Marketing PlanKaren Jensen
Graphic Design Basics for Non–Graphic DesignersKaren Jensen
Merchandising 101: Marketing to Teens in the LibraryKaren Jensen
Booktalking in Your Local Schools as a Marketing OpportunityKaren Jensen
Make the Most of Your Teen Services Social MediaKaren Jensen

Heather Booth is committed to serving the dynamic needs and interests of young people in a community setting. She has been a teen services librarian in the Chicago suburbs since 2002, currently at the Thomas Ford Memorial Library, in Western Springs. She is the author of Serving Teens through Readers’ Advisory (ALA Editions, 2007) and several chapters on readers’ advisory for teens in other professional works. She reviews books for youth and audiobooks for Booklist. Her article “RA for YA” won the feature article award from Public Libraries in 2006. She holds a BA from Kalamazoo College, in southwest Michigan, and her library degree from the Graduate School of Library and Information Sciences at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

Karen Jensen has worked with teens since 1993. She holds a degree in Christian Education/Youth Ministry from Mount Vernon College and earned her MLS from Kent State University. She is currently a teen services librarian in Grand Prairie, Texas, where she is especially focused on using the “40 Developmental Assets for Adolescents” to advocate for teens in her library and community. She is the author of several articles in VOYA and wrote a chapter in Intellectual Freedom for Teens: A Practical Guide for Young Adult & School Librarians, by Kristin Fletcher-Spear and Kelly Tyler. She is the creator and moderator of Teen Librarian Toolbox, where she blogs about pop culture, librarianship, and books.

Reviews

”This guide to providing teen services in public libraries is quite comprehensive, earning its place as part of The Whole Library Handbook series … Especially useful are the pieces on weeding, booktalking, and self-directed (passive) programming … this title should be useful to library and information science students and anyone serving teens."
— VOYA

”Booth and Jensen have put
together a valuable resource for any
librarian who works on a regular
basis with teens, whether it is full- or
part-time."
— Catholic Library World